Sober and socializing: Dry January brings business to Atlanta’s alcohol-free bars

Tucked away in Atlanta’s Castleberry Hill neighborhood is a bar. During the day, it’s filled with warm light, soft music, and a sprinkling of remote workers. Brightly colored booths and chairs are arranged in tight patterns for intimate conversations. It’s cozy.

Local patron Alex Green said he found this bar, The Sober Social, after looking for something different in the neighborhood.

“It felt like Cheers,” he said, referring to the hit 1980s TV show set in a Boston bar. “You know it’s like ‘Where everybody knows your name.’ I come in and, you know, everybody is real welcoming.”

The Sober Social is an alcohol-free bar and coffee shop a stone’s throw from Mercedes-Benz Stadium, and Green has frequented the spot since it opened in January 2023. 

“I feel like, in Atlanta, it’s one of those things where it's like, you got to get drunk and turn up,” he said. “I just wanted something where I could experience good cocktails but not, you know, be wasted or like a part of that [bar] community. Something chill.”

Curating a safe and relaxing environment is something owner Aja Wolfe takes pride in. She said when The Sober Social does ‘last call,’ she isn’t calling ride-shares.

“We don't have to worry about that,” she said. “You're not going to leave here and you're not going to get into an accident. You're not going to harm anybody because of what you were consuming here.”

When Wolfe first opened, she said finding her audience in the city presented some challenges.

“I feel like the ‘A’ in Atlanta stands for alcohol," she said. "Atlanta is definitely an alcohol city. And I'm pushing my way."

Now she’s making believers of people who doubted her drinks were any good. 

“I have, especially my men,” Wolfe said. “They'll come in support of their pregnant wife — or a friend is sober and they're like, ‘No, I'm just here for support. I don't want no juice.’ I'll give them a drink on the house to taste, and then it's like ‘You sure no alcohol in this? Give me another one.’”

According to research by Gallup, adults aged 18 to 34 are drinking less than their parents and grandparents did when they were young. Only 62% report having occasions to drink, which is down 10% from adults 20 years ago. But people still want nightlife, and a third place outside of home and work.

Caption

Herbalist Luther Ocasio mixes spirits and spices to create unique alcohol-free mocktails at his pop-up bar, Altered.

Credit: Amanda Andrews / GPB News

Luther Ocasio is an herbalist turned bartender serving what he calls mocktails — or potions — or even elixirs at Altered, a pop-up bar inside the Bardo in Atlanta’s West End.

“They're tired of breweries,” he said. “They're tired of waking up [with a] hangover. They're tired of having to go to those places to socialize with their friends. When people come in here, they're like, ‘Oh, my God, I've been looking for this place. I've been looking. Why don’t more places do it?’”

Ocasio says a lot of sober events are for people in substance abuse recovery, but he wants to create an alcohol-free space for anyone. That starts with fun. 

“If we don't incorporate fun into the nonalcoholic spaces, then it's going to be a little bit harder to really pick up traction because that's what people ultimately want,” he said. “They want social fun.” 

Part of that fun is making sure patrons can taste a unique mix of spirits, spices, and fruits in their drinks that regular bars don’t offer. 

“I made a starfruit and lemongrass syrup mixed with nonalcoholic spirit and a splash of a prickly pear and lime shrub, and we call that one "Joyride,'” Ocasio said.

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The Sober Social sells alcohol-free bourbon for customers to sip at home from brands like Kentucky 74.

Credit: Amanda Andrews / GPB News

Back at The Sober Social, their version of an old fashioned is called The Reserve and it costs $13.50. At a bar nearby, a bourbon drink costs between $12 and $18. Wolfe said it’s a misconception that nonalcoholic drinks are cheap to make.

“The process of removing the alcohol from, like the beers or the wine is actually more expensive than making a product with alcohol in it,” she said. “So I get a lot of people like, ‘Oh my God, the drinks are almost $20.’ And it's like, yeah, because this isn't cheap.” 

Occasionally, patrons will ask Wolfe why they still feel different if there’s no alcohol in their drinks.

“I’m like, 'What you feel is you feel relaxed,'” she said. “You feel engulfed in an intimate setting in a conversation with your friend. You look pretty. All of this. You're holding a glass. All of the ritual and the aesthetics around cocktail culture provides a feeling.”

And increasingly, young people are saying that’s a feeling they don’t need alcohol to find.